Shared practice: Managing Team in a VIrtual environments

Managing Virtual Teams
Student’s Name
Institution
Abstract
Benefits associated with virtual teams include reduced costs due to savings in office space as well as reduced utility expenses. Continuous production and increased skills and diversity are the other advantages. Challenges include lack of trust and collaboration, commitment challenges, communication hurdles, and the time-zone differences. Communication and collaboration challenges arise from the fact that the members may not know each other personally and are from different cultural backgrounds that make their behavior different. One of my duties as a manager would be maintaining and establishing clear performance standards. To prevent loafing and role misunderstanding, it would be my duty to clarify what the team is expected to do, what each person is expected to contribute and how the work may be accomplished. I would also ensure close communication between all members by agreeing with them on the best tools and channels to use in communication and the best time to hold regular team meetings. Among the tools to choose from include teleconferencing, emails, video conferencing, and web meetings. It would also be my duty to motivate the members in these meetings.
Keywords: virtual teams, loafing
With increased globalization and the advent of technology, companies are increasingly relying on “virtual teams” to drive their growth agenda. The virtual teams are generally made up of people working from differe…